Emerging Tech

Are you one of those folks, stuck in the past, who thinks that having no hands means that you’re not eligible for a career as a pianist? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are here to send your judgmental ass back to the 20th century where you belong! They have developed a smart new prosthesis, driven by ultrasound, which allows amputees to tinkle the ivories with a bionic hand equipped with impressively agile prosthetic fingers. It was recently used by a musician who lost part of his right arm to play the piano for the first time since his accident five years ago.“In a nutshell, our technology allows amputees to gain full control of their prosthetic hand in a dexterous and intuitive manner, including finger-by-finger control,” Gil Weinberg, the Georgia Tech College of Design professor who leads the project, told Digital Trends. “The accuracy and sensitivity of our novel ultrasonic sensor and machine learning algorithms allow amputees to … [Read more...] about Man plays piano with a bionic hand better than Skywalker slays with a lightsaber

Whether it’s the AA batteries that go in TV remotes or the lithium-ion batteries found in smartphones, you probably have a pretty definite image that springs to mind when someone mentions “battery.” That could soon change, however, based on research coming out of the Binghamton University in New York, where scientists have developed a stretchy, textile-based, bacteria-powered bio-battery which could one day be used to power wearable devices. In demonstrations, the battery was shown to be able to exhibit stable electricity-generating capabilities even after repeated stretching and twisting cycles.The breakthrough tech was developed by a team led by Professor Seokheun Choi. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Choi has previously been responsible for some innovative new battery technologies, such as a paper-like microbial fuel cell designed to produce electricity when activated by saliva. “All my previous experiences and technologies on paper-based … [Read more...] about This sweat-powered, stretchable battery could revolutionize wearables

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion different crowdfunding campaigns happening on the web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you’ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there — alongside some real gems. We’ve cut through the fidget spinners and janky iPhone cases to round up the most unusual, ambitious, and exciting new crowdfunding projects out there this week. That said, keep in mind that any crowdfunding project — even the best intentioned — can fail, so do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams. Isolite — light modifier for photographers You know those “light field” Lytro cameras that allow you to take a picture, then adjust the focus later? Isolite works on basically the same principle, but rather than allowing you to adjust the focus of an image after you’ve shot it, the system allows you to adjust the lighting … [Read more...] about Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Folding helmets and emojis for your carna

We’re all used to the tech business model that provides zero-dollar access to services in exchange for our data. From the streaming music catalog of Spotify to the myriad services offered by Google, it’s an arrangement that seemingly benefits everyone: We get “free” stuff, while tech companies get access to a rich stream of information about their users that’s way more valuable to them than a one-off purchase fee.This business model has become standard in the software world of ones and zeroes, but it hasn’t caught on in other walks of life. Just imagine the owner of a restaurant when you fail to present a credit card at the end of the meal, and instead offer to pay by listing facts about your eating habits. Would a car manufacturer be sufficiently interested in info to knock, say, 50 percent off the price of a new BMW should you promise to let them know where you drive it? Both of these examples seem fatuous at first glance. But why?We get a bunch of … [Read more...] about Would you trade your privacy for a car? You might have that choice in the future

Although better known as an automaker, Honda has long been directing funds to robotics research for personal interactions and mobility applications, with some of the technology also likely to find its way back to its driverless car project.It’s a busy time for the Japanese company as the fruit of its most recent work is set to be unveiled at CES in just a few weeks.Described by Honda as a “3E (Empower, Experience, Empathy) Robotics Concept,” the four robots incorporate a range of experimental technologies designed for a variety of roles.First up is the 3E-A18 (no, they don’t have particularly catchy names), described by Honda as a companion robot “that shows compassion to humans with a variety of facial expressions.” In the video, the 3E-A18 can be seen on the far left, sporting a smile so cute it would surely melt the heart of even the most frozen of souls.Next up is the 3E-B18, a single-seat mobility concept “designed for casual use in indoor … [Read more...] about Honda just rolled out 4 of its cutest robot designs yet

Death isn’t a subject we talk about too often in tech. It’s a world where CEOs are already onto their second startup at age 21, billionaires are minted at 30, and people plan to retire long before their bodies start physically failing them. Even when we do discuss old age, it’s more likely to be in the context of ways to extend life — or cheat death altogether by uploading the mind into a machine.Dr. Philip Nitschke is concerned about a different aspect, though. He is one of the most outspoken proponents of euthanasia, referring to deliberate intervention taken by a person to end his or her life to relieve suffering. And as the founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International, he is using tech to help his cause. Working alongside Netherlands engineer Alexander Bannick, Nitschke developed a 3D-printed euthanasia machine called Sarco which, he claims, could serve a valuable social purpose.“The Sarco has been developed specifically to … [Read more...] about Open source suicide: This 3D-printable ‘death pod’ provides painless euthanasia

Unfortunately, we’ve yet to discover life beyond our lonely planet, however, it seems as though the International Space Station orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth has become quite the, well, petri dish of goop. A series of recent reports detail the unique microbiome growing not only inside but also on the exterior of the laboratory and this orbiting testing ground isn’t nearly as pristine as one would imagine, to say the least.Lacking many of the comforts we take for granted on Earth, basic hygiene is slightly more arduous on the space station. When they’re not performing grueling extravehicular missions, astronauts spend the rest of their live-long days showering in water reclaimed from breath and sweat, drinking recycled urine, and — seeing as fresh laundry is delivered in shipments — wearing the same clothes (including the unmentionables) for days on end. An astronaut who shalt not be named once … [Read more...] about The space station is about as sanitary as your run-of-the-mill bachelor pad

It’s not the 3D-printed pizza that astronauts could one day be scarfing down on lengthy missions to Mars, but it is, nevertheless, pizza in space.This is just the kind of comfort food some astronauts hanker for during their long stints aboard the International Space Station (ISS), as evidenced by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli when he mentioned to his boss during a recent live-stream event that he really misses the cheesy dish. A short while later, he was eating one for dinner.The crew did, however, have to make it themselves, presumably because the Domino’s delivery guy couldn’t make the trip on his scooter.Knowing full well that earthlings would be highly curious to see what space pizza looks like, Paolo’s fellow Expedition 53 crew member, Randy Bresnik‏, uploaded a video to YouTube over the weekend giving us the lowdown.Truth be told, prepping pizza in space is much like prepping it at home, apart from the fact that just about everything is … [Read more...] about See how astronauts make pizza in microgravity conditions

Maybe folks had two minutes to brush their teeth back in your grandparents’ day, but here in the hectic world of 2017 we like things to be a little bit more instantaneous than that. Having covered a 10-second motorized toothbrush back in July, now a new Kickstarter campaign promises to more than halve that number — with a so-called Unico “smartbrush mouthpiece” its creators claim will clean your gnashers in just three seconds flat.The science fiction-like device is a mouthpiece boasting a large number of tiny brushes, alongside a micropump system which distributes toothpaste. Put it into your mouth and the idea is that it cleans every tooth simultaneously, saving you the indignity of having to move a toothbrush around your mouth to polish your pearly whites one at a time. You can even control the brush speed from your smartphone, via a connected app.“In our opinion, in the toothbrush industry there has been no real innovation for decades,” inventor … [Read more...] about Smart mouthpiece reinvents the toothbrush, enables 3-second teeth cleaning

Since claiming dominion over this drifting space rock, we humans have peppered the planet with abodes and edifices both large and small. Over the past century, we scraped the sky with awe-inspiring stacks of steel — but sometimes “bigger” doesn’t always mean “better.” We’ve scoured atlas and encyclopedia alike — and of course the trusty internet — to find the most impressive buildings around the globe. From a flying saucer seemingly afloat in the Hollywood Hills to a Spanish cathedral more than a century in the making, here are our picks for the 16 coolest buildings on the planet.Heydar Aliyev Centre (Baku, Azerbaijan)Azerbaijan was previously part of the Soviet Union and much of the capital, Baku — as well as much of the rest of the country — remains dominated by the lingering architecture of the bygone era. Once Azerbaijan gained independence in 1991, the government made it a point to break with the Soviet … [Read more...] about Great heights and spectacular sights: The 16 coolest buildings on Earth